Mr Crepsley and The Strange Teenagers
by The American Ranger
Summary: Larten stalks me and my buddy. But he starts feeling something for one of us. What will he do? Will he be glomped? Kissed? I don't know, but you will if you read!
1. Stalker in Red

Mr. Crepsley and the strange girls-

**(AN- So uh, not really sure if this'll be a oneshot or a story yet, all I know is it's supposed to be funny! Oh, and a little surprise for Slytherin Queen 1.30! Oh, and it's very short!)**

Larten watched the girl, from his hiding spot in the dark alley. Her short black hair was streaked with red, she wore tight pants, a brightly colored shirt, a pink jacket, and lots of jewelry. She laughed and talked to her short red-haired friend as they walked to what Larten guessed was a movie theater. His reason for following the two girls was that he was completely and utterly bored. "Hey, it happens to the best vampires!" Darren had joked earlier that evening. Then Larten had flitted to no particular place, and ended up here.

He shadowed them for a bit, listening to their conversation. "I'm _so _exited, Kenzie!" exclaimed the red-headed one. Kenzie gave a little squeal, "I know! So, do you really think Tallahassee's going to be gay in this one?" She asked, watching closely for the other girl's reaction. She paused for a few seconds then said, " Well, it'd be to bad if he was. But, hey, it might enhance the movie, ya know?" Kenzie glared at her.

"Talla better not be gay, or I'll personally rip the head off of the director, feed it to a band of zombies, then retrieve his body and fill it with bombs, then hit the detonator." she snarled.

Larten blinked, amazed that a human could be so vicious. And about a movie! He tuned into their conversation again. "All right, all right. Be that way." said the short one. "Yes, Ashley, I _will_ be that way!" she says, pretending to be angry. "Hey, um, if he _was_ gay, would that mean Columbus would be, too? I really hope there are some other survivors for Tallahassee…" she trails off. Kenzie gave her another look, then, to Larten's surprise, turned around and asked, "Okay, so how long did you think it was going to take me to notice you?".

He fumbled for something to say, amazed that the girl could see him, since he was behind a tree. But then he realized that she was talking to a black-haired boy, some length ahead of him. "Honestly, ducky, I know you like Ashley, but do you have to stalk her?" she said sarcastically. The boy frowned, "Drake and me were going to see Zombieland 2, we weren't stalking you." he said. "Really, then where's Drake?" she asked, looking around. "His mom's dropping him off in a few minutes." "Ben, his mom's in jail." said Ashley.

"Fine," he mumbled, "I heard you were coming and I thought I'd come too." He said quietly. Ashley smiled warmly, "S'okay, Ben, you can come with us, so long as you pay for your ticket!" he brightened up instantly, and the three continued heading for the theater. "So did you hear Tallahassee's supposed to be gay in this movie?" asks Ben. The girls groaned, "Yes!" they said simultaneously.

Larten was really finding their conversation fascinating, by now. Something black fell out of Kenzie's pocket. "Oh, crap. My iPod!" she exclaimed, grabbing for it. Ashley peeked over her shoulder, "Is it okay?" she asked. "I think so….see what you do Ashley!" "What? What did I have to do with it?" she asked, bewildered. " You scared it." she stated simply. Ashley stared at her. Larten bit back a smile, these two were pretty funny. But…he didn't know what an iPod was. He shrugged, deciding to ask Darren later.

"You know, I don't see what's so exciting about iPods." she said thoughtfully. "I mean, an MP3 player is great, too. You don't even have to pay for songs!" Kenzie looked offended. "iPods are awesome! Your stupid MP3 player can't even compare! IPods have apps, changeable wallpaper, you can go on the internet, and a whole lot of other stuff too!" "Yeah, Ashley, their way better than MP3s." said Ben, who'd been quiet for the past few minutes. "Hey, ducky." said Kenzie. "Yeah?" "Shut up."

The three then proceeded to enter the theater, and Larten went to find out what iPod was.

**(An- So, the usual. Read, laugh, review, tell your friends and dogs, and remember to hug a vampire!)**


	2. Zombieland 2

Chapter 2-

Larten sees Zombieland 2

After his little outing, Larten had returned to the Cirque and found out what an iPod was. "You see, it holds music. You have to buy it, though, off of this website called iTunes. Then, when you get the music, you can listen to it whenever you feel like it. Although, they're really expensive compared to MP3 players, like I have." explained Darren.

Larten nodded. Now that he had a little information, the conversation made a little more sense. "So, um….why'd you need to know?" asked his assistant curiously. Larten eyed him. "It doesn't concern you, and you'd be wise not to interfere." Darren huffed. "Well, I was just curious. Gosh." "Darren, go feed the wolf-man." He groaned, then stalked out the door, still grumbling.

About two minutes later, Larten flitted back to the theater. He couldn't help himself, these kids were interesting. Sticking to the shadows, he made his way to a slightly overweight man by a counter. "Excuse me, but in which theater is the movie 'Zombieland Two' playing?" he asked. The fat man eyed him. "Theater four. And do you have money to pay for that, sir?" he inquired in a not-so-friendly tone. Larten raised an eyebrow, then blew his vampire breath all over the fat man, knocking him unconscious.

Humming to himself, Larten made his way to theater four. He, surprisingly, was not seen by any other humans. Humans, that is.

Darren was suddenly walking beside him. "Darren." he said through gritted teeth. "Did I not tell you to feed the wolf-man?" Darren looked at him. "Yeah, you did…." "So, did you do that?" "No, I told Evra to do it for me." The older vampire sighed. "This is supposed to be a private outing, for me. Not you. Me."

Darren looked up at the title over the theater door.

"So you're going to see Zombieland 2?"

"Yes. I find this movie fascinating."

"What's the main character's name?"

"Tallahassee."

"Wrong. It's Columbus."

Larten glared at the half-vampire. "Go home. Now." he gave Darren a glare. He gulped, then ran outside. Smart kid. He made his way into the theater.

Finding the teenagers was not very hard. The one called Kenzie was screaming, "Go Talla! You show that mother effer who's boss!" While Ashley was attempting to pull her back down into her seat. Ben sat quietly to one side, watching the movie. Larten took a seat behind them.

Kenzie stopped screaming, after being threatened by a man who apparently worked there. Larten turned his attention to the movie. A man of about thirty, dressed similarly to that of a cowboy, was shooting down people with blood and gore dripping from them. He honestly didn't see the appeal.

He watched for a few more moments, then a curly-haired man came on screen. Ashley gave a little squeal, and Ben looked at her. "Yay! Columbus!" she whispered excitedly to Kenzie, who rolled her eyes. Then they continued watching. Soon, the cowboy man took his shirt off to stifle the blood coming from his leg, after falling on a dead zombie. Kenzie gave a sort of 'wooooo!' from in front of him. "Come on, Talla, take it all off!" she yelled. The man came back, this time giving her a warning.

After about two more hours of this, the movie ended. Kenzie was screaming and yelling again, and Ashley clapped. Ben just tried to get out of his seat. They all fought their way out of their seats, and into the aisle. Ashley was letting people out of them, which Larten found nice. Kenzie just bulldozed her way out, and Ben followed Ashley.

The red-head stopped in front of Larten, and motioned for him to go ahead out. Then she took a good, long look at him. "Ummmm…..why are you dressed up like Larten Crepsley?" she asked, using a similar tone as to how Darren asked questions. Larten's heart gave a thump. How did this human know about him? Why was she so casual about it? He didn't give her time to ask another question, jumping over the rows of seats. He then flitted all the way back to the Cirque.

When he got back to his and Darren's tent, he found his assistant there. "So, uh, Zombieland 2? Was it good?" Larten grumbled, "Yes…." then went to his coffin.

**(AN-And….fin! For this chapter at least!)**


	3. Hot Topic

Chapter 3-

Larten goes to Hot Topic

**(AN-While writing this, I'm intending it to be a longer chapter, since the others were very short! So, read, and please review! Kay, enjoy! Oh, and it's gonna start off with my point of view, then Larten!)**

Ashley sifted through the pile of shirts, attempting to find one to wear. She picked up a red one, then threw it down again. It'd be horrible with her hair. Plus, it reminded her of the guy last night, who'd dressed up like Mr. Crepsley from Cirque du Freak. She'd passed it off, though, figuring he was an actor or had lost a bet or something.

She settled on her one and only Metallica shirt, and dark jeans. Pulling her hair back, she raced down to the door, and found McKenzie had already let herself in. "Okay, so you know the drill. Stuff in my room, locate Alexis, shoes and jackets, then find my parents and we're on our way!" Her friend grinned then ran up the stairs, while Ashley started looking for her twin sister, Alexis. She found her where she'd expected her to be, downstairs, sewing. Ashley looked at the materials in detest. She was horrible with crafts of any way, shape, or form. Her twin was awesome at them.

"Come on! The Slytherin has arrived!" she called, pulling Alexis off the couch. About twenty minutes later, they were in their parents' truck and on the way to Hot Topic. Kenzie smoothed down her short hair, grinning. "So you two have never been here?" she asked. The two shook their heads. "Then, this should be fun!"

Larten was lying in his coffin, contemplating the two girls. They had been fun to watch. And he was severely bored…..he sat up swiftly, scaring the crap out of Darren. "Don't do that! God, it's like Frankenstein or something!" he whined. Larten eyed him, "So I remind you of a green monster." Darren froze for a moment, eyes locked on the older vampire. "Nooo-ooo….." he said. "I am going to go get some….cheese. I will be back shortly."

Larten prepared himself to flit, but then Darren grabbed onto his cloak. "Mr. Crepsley, you can't go walking around dressed like that! People are gonna think you're crazy or might even guess about what you really are!" he said. Larten sighed. "Fine. Go get Truska, perhaps she has inconspicuous clothing." "And don't forget your suns-" "I know about the sunscreen, Darren! I have used it for as long as it has been in existence!" he growled. Darren looked hurt, but went to go find Truska.

A short while later, Truska came through the door, Darren following with a garment rack filled with clothes. "Good Lord, I did not ask for an entire wardrobe!" Larten exclaimed. Truska frowned. "But you say you need clothes, so I bring them." she said, her heavy accent mauling the words. She began looking through the clothes, then through a pair of black pants and a red hoodie at him. "Wear those. They look good." she stated, then turned and left. Larten went to change, and Darren was forced to carry the whole garment rack back to Truska's tent.

He prepared himself to flit…again, a few minutes later. "Wait! Mr. Crepsley! I have to go feed, can I come, too?" asked his assistant. Larten groaned, then allowed the boy onto his back. "Remember, hold your breath." he said, then flitted to the town where he had last seen the girls. "Now, go feed. Then return to the Cirque, because I have many chores to tend to today." Darren looked at him curiously, but obeyed his orders and went to feed.

He followed the scent of the girls(Ashley smelled like pomegranates) and found them in a store in the shopping mall. He looked around at the people occupying the store. Mainly gothic teenagers, and a few who dressed similarly to Kenzie. He pretended to be looking at…what were they called? DVC's. Then he tuned into their conversation.

Kenzie squealed. "Ohmygod! Look, Invader Zim! Oooh, look it's Gir!" Ashley squealed, "Look, Tim Burton stuff!" She then raced over to a rather large section of the store. And that's when Larten realized there was a third member of their little group. Another red-haired girl who looked very much like Ashley. Kenzie walked over to the girl, who was still looking at 'Invader Zim' things. "You know, for twins, you two don't have a lot in common! She's drooling over Jack Skellington, and you're looking at Gir!" she joked.

Then she ran over to a section with clothing. She did the squeal noise again, then called, "Come _on_, Lexi! I found HP stuff!" she shrieked. The girl, Lexi, dropped everything and ran over to Kenzie. The two giggled and grinned at the shirts. Larten decided to go follow Ashley for a bit. He found her looking at a display filled with grinning skeletons. Unlike her friend, she didn't squeal at everything she saw, merely gasping and 'Oooh'ing at things. He followed her into another section, and as he did he cursed his illiteracy. He would have loved to read the displays.

Ashley stopped at a display, and her eyes went wide. "No. Way." she said. "Kenzie! Alexis! Darren Shan stuff!" Larten froze. Why was she talking about his assistant?

The other two girls raced over. "Look! Grubbs hoodies! And fake Octas! Ooooh! Larten's cape!" they marveled at every little thing. Larten was still trying to find out how they knew about him and his assistant and spider. Finally the three left the store, arms filled with clothes and jewelry. Larten followed them out, hiding in the shadows.

They stopped at a restaurant, after donning their purchases. He went in, as well. He pulled out his wallet, paying for the food. He wouldn't eat it, of course, but he needed cover. He took a table behind the three, putting his face behind a menu.

"So, I read this awesome fic yesterday, right? And guess what happened?" asked Ashley dramatically. "What?" asked Alexis. "Oh, poor Lexi, you won't get this, since you're not a fanficcer." she said, fake sorry. "So, it was a lemon about Darren and Larten." she told Kenzie. The black haired girl shook her head. "No, he does that with me." she stated, earning her a skeptic glance from Ashley. Alexis looked back and forth between the two. "I don't get it." she complained. "As you shouldn't." replied her sister.

Larten realized the sun was starting to go down. If he didn't go back to the Cirque soon, Darren would send out a search party. He took one last glance at the girls who somehow knew about him, then went outside, flitting home. "So, um, where's your cheese?" asked Evra, who was standing next to an angry looking Darren. "What took you so long?" he asked. "I was going to send out a search party!" "They were out of cheese." said Larten. "Right…." said Evra. "Darren, I need you to search something for me on your computer machine." Taken by surprise at the odd request, Darren went to the PC. He went to Google, and searched 'Lemon fic'. He, to his embarrassment, read out loud the passage. Larten went back to his coffin, cheeks red.


	4. Karate Tournament

Chapter 4-

**(AN- I'd like to thank all my readers for adding this to their faves and reviewing! Awesome, now that I thanked someone, on to the story! Oh, and if I spell some karate terms wrong, it's not my fault since I don't take karate! Enjoy!)**

Darren eyed his mentor, wondering if he'd vanish again later. Ten minutes later, the vampire had donned his human gear and was about to flit.

"So, where are you going now?" asked Darren, arms crossed. "More cheese?"

Larten made his signature 'You did not just ask me that' face.

"Where I go and what I do is none of your business, Darren. You are my assistant, not my father."

His assistant still looked suspicious, but allowed him to flit. He found himself, yet again, at the shopping mall. It didn't take much to find his source of entertainment, either. Kenzie was having a fight with the black haired boy in the middle of the parking lot.

No…they weren't actually fighting. Kenzie aimed kicks and punches to different parts of his body, stopping right before hitting him. He flinched nearly every time, though he tried valiantly not to. From a table, Ashley clapped and called comments at every fake hit.

Kenzie finished with a roundhouse kick aimed at the boy's groin. She didn't stop this one, though. The crowd that had gathered around them burst into laughter and clapped as the boy groaned and fell on the blacktop.

Ashley ran up to them, helping Ben off the ground. "So Ducky, now do you see my awesomeness?" she asked, grinning at him. He mumbled something in response. Larten stifled a laugh, Arra had done something similar a few decades ago. Vancha had never been the same.

"Now, to the karate tournament!" shouted Kenzie, punching the air. Ashley and Alexis, who'd popped up from the table as well, repeated the action. Ben put his hand in the air.

He followed them to a red van, where a woman and yet another teenager were waiting. "Panda!" shouted Ashley. The tall girl grinned.

"I didn't know you were coming!" said Kenzie.

"I didn't know that was coming." said Panda, jerking her head towards Ben.

**(AN-I just love how Larten calls us by our nicknames sometimes!)**

The black haired boy looked offended, but decided not to respond. The woman, who looked very much like Kenzie, pointed towards the van. "Come on, the tournament's not going to wait for us!" she said.

The five teens piled into the vehicle, Ashley at one point tripping over air and falling flat on her face.

Kenzie looked at her from one of the front seats. "Skills." she said simply. Ashley huffed from the ground then picked herself up and got in the van. It rolled away, and Larten easily kept pace with it for a few miles.

It finally stopped at a high school about twenty miles or so later. Larten hid behind a tree. The teens climbed out of the car, this time both Ben and Ashley falling out this time. The other three shared a look, then said simultaneously, "Skills.". Then they all giggled and, the other two getting up, headed towards the school.

"So, you guys know what to do right?" Kenzie asked, looking at the twin redheads. "Yep, we go to the bleachers, find a spot with an awesome view, avoid getting hit or punched, make ourselves comfortable, and watch while you change." said Ashley. The other girl nodded. "Ducky, Amanda, you guys just follow them okay?"

Then he lost them in a crowd of bragging adults and their children. Larten followed the flow of humans for a while, eavesdropping on their conversations. "Tony's practiced for a whole week on his hand movements, he's got this one!" boasted a blond woman. "Yeah, well Andre's mastered his whole weapons routine! He could probably do it in his sleep!" said a tall black woman. Her son looked a bit reluctant to be shown off.

He followed them to a table, where once again he cursed his illiteracy. People milled around, getting drawn on by other people. A tall man saw him and walked over. "You're a competitor, right?" he asked, then, not waiting for an answer, he drew a 'C' on Larten's hand and led him to a room.

"These are the changing rooms, put on your clothes you're competing in and come out here when you're ready." he said lazily, then walked back to the table. Larten stood bewildered. He went in the changing rooms anyway though. He was, once again, curious.

On one of the benches was a red and black cape, black pants, and a red shirt. Larten looked around, and, not seeing anyone, took the clothes and put them on. Nearby sat a long sword, which he took, too. He liked the idea of this competition. People gave you free clothes and weapons, and you could show off for crowds.

He walked back into the hall, and made his way into the gym. There were people, adults and children alike, punching and kicking the air. Some yelled as they moved, while others remained silent. Larten decided that when he went up he'd yell. It looked like fun, and after all, he was only here because he was bored.

Spying the group of teenagers, he walked over to them, not bothering to hide in the shadows. He took a place near where they had claimed as their own. Kenzie's mother was waving to Kenzie who was on the floor talking to a few other girls. Ashley and Amanda carried on a conversation, Alexis watched the people, and Ben had his nose in a book.

"Competitors to the floor! Line up with your dojo, then sit on the floor!" called a man. The people began heading towards the floor and Larten followed. He paused. Which dojo should he go to? Deciding that the large patch on his cloak meant something, he asked Kenzie's mother what it said. She gave him a bizarre look, but told him the name.

He made his way over, taking his place behind a woman dressed in long, billowing black robes. The announcer made a few more announcements, telling the rules. Larten found them interesting. "You will be disqualified if you draw blood from your opponent." called the man. The vampire frowned. 'This will be difficult….' he thought.

And then the competition began. Larten asked the woman in front of him when he'd have to compete. She smiled, "Right after I do. So just watch me, and when I leave, come down. You a first timer?" she asked. He nodded. "That explains it. Well, good luck!"

Larten took a spot near his entertainment (that's what he'd begun to call the teens), and watched for the woman. He listened in on their conversation as well. "Heh-heh….Hey Ashley, read this little paragraph right here!" said Ben passing her his book. She read it, then made a gagging noise. "I remember this! Why the hell did you bring it?" she asked raising an eyebrow. He grinned, "Because I was bored and that's how I satisfy myself." he said. Again, she raised an eyebrow. "I know, I'm stupid." he said grinning.

"Oooh, look, Kenzie's up!" said Amanda, pointing. Kenzie's mother dug in her bag, pulling out a camera machine. She pointed it towards the girl, and the teens watched.

She kicked repeatedly, yelling with every thrust. Then she spun around and aimed a cut towards the judges. They did not even flinch, just wrote things in their notebooks. Finally, Kenzie finished, and several people clapped and cheered. The judges held up numbers, calling them out. "8", "7", "9". Kenzie looked pleased.

Her group ended and she headed back to the bleachers. Taking a spot between Amanda and Ashley, she grinned at them. "I'm awesome." she stated proudly. Larten had gotten so caught up in them, he had forgotten about competing.

He found the woman, who was just finishing her routine. She winked at him, then was rated. He made his way to the competing area. He bowed to the judges, then started doing moves lightning fast.

Ashley watched from the bleachers. The man had amazing strength, speed, and power. He also had red hair and wore a brilliant red cloak. She paused.

"No. Way." she said.

"What?" asked Kenzie.

"Look at that guy over at the adult section."

"Who, him?"

"Yeah, the red guy. Now think, who does he look like?"

"No. Way."

The two shared grins.

"Hey, Larten! Over here!" shouted Kenzie.

Larten looked up at the bleachers, having just finished. He saw Kenzie and Ashley waving to him, and heard them calling him. The judges made hand signals at the girls, who stopped. Then they rated him, giving him all tens.

Three hours later, Larten fell into his coffin, exhausted. Darren looked at him. "What happened to your human clothes?" he asked. But he was already asleep, a trophy in his arms. Darren shook his head. "What are you up to?"

**(AN-That chapter was so looong…..well to a procrastinator like me. Hope you enjoyed it!)**


	5. Dance Recital

Chapter Five-

**(AN- Ugh, I'm so sorry Doc Manager decides to screw this up, as it tends to. About that chap that was completely underlined, I fixed it recently, but if it's still screwy, sorry again!)**

Larten woke up at five o' clock in the evening the next evening. He gave a groan, stretching in his coffin. The trophy had left an indent in his side where he'd slept on it. He inspected it, noting that his name was spelled wrong on the plaque.

By the snoring next to him, he judged that Darren was still asleep. Climbing out of the coffin, he realized he was still in his tournament clothes. He stripped bare, then put his human clothes back on. A sigh escaped his throat. He only had two more days before the Cirque moved on again. Which meant leaving his entertaining teenagers behind. But, he was a vampire and Cirque member, so he was used to it by now.

Larten grabbed some money from a plastic bag, on which Darren had written something. Figuring it probably just said 'Money', he pocketed it. He had an odd feeling that he might need it tonight. He stepped outside, then shivered. It was much colder than he'd expected.

'A cloak isn't that strange…' he thought, eyeing his favorite one. 'But then again, humans have no taste.' He scrambled around looking for a coat, deciding against the cloak.

He turned to look behind the velvet couch, thinking he might have dropped one back there. But he had to stifle a scream of surprise as he found himself face to face with Truska. She smiled at him, while his heartbeat attempted to return to normal.

"Er….Hello Truska. Why are you in my tent?" he asked.

"I design new clothes for you." she stated, holding out a package.

He nodded then took them.

"Thank you. I will try them on later."

"No, I wish to see now."

"But I am going out now."

"Then you can look nice."

Larten sighed. There would be no winning with her. He took the package, then went to put it on. He emerged a few moments later.

He wore a suit with black and red stripes, and black silk cuffs. He smiled at the blond woman.

"I like it."

"But you forget one piece." she said, handing him a top hat with a matching design, a black feather poking from the silk. He donned it, then spun around once.

"It suit you." said the blond woman happily. Then Rhamus poked his head in. "Truska, my pants are too small again, can you tailor them?" he asked, looking rather unhappy. She smiled, then nodded to Larten and followed the man out.

Standing in front of his mirror, Larten looked at his new suit. He grabbed his black silk cape, then smiled. "Who gives a damn about their opinions?" he asked no one in particular. Then he stepped outside, and flitted to the only place he knew to find his teenagers.

Surprisingly, he didn't find them immediately. But he simply followed their scents, of which he'd grown accustomed too, and found them at a restaurant. This time the group consisted of Kenzie, Ashley, Amanda, Alexis, Kenzie's mother, and a woman who Larten assumed was Ashley's mother.

"Come on, Ashley! You need to eat faster! We're going to be late!" said Kenzie and Ashley's mother in unison.

The girl attempted to eat faster, which only caused her to choke on her food. The others laughed, while Ashley spat out her food. "Okay, I'm done." she said, glaring at her napkin. Kenzie giggled, and the two adults went to pay for the meal.

"About time, Captain Slow." said Kenzie, smiling at her friend. She growled in response. Amanda looked at them.

"So, what happens at a dance recital?" she asked curiously. The other three shared glances. After briefly whispering something in Ashley's ear Kenzie smiled at Amanda.

"Weeeellllll…..first all the girls strip."

"Then they put on short costumes."

"Then they eat nachos."

"And then dance to Micheal Jackson songs."

Amanda looked between the two.

"Somehow, I doubt that."

The other three collapsed into laughter.

"No what really happens is that we put up tents first." said Alexis.

"Without my help!" added Ashley.

"Then everyone fixes their hair and makeup, and puts on their costumes."

"We don't dance to Micheal Jackson songs, by the way."

"Well the finale was 'Thriller' one year, but other than that, we don't."

"And then we dance to good music, and stop at the snack bar, where I get nachos." said Ashley grinning.

The two adults came back. "So are we ready to roll?" asked Ashley's mother. The four exchanged glances. "Yep."

Then they climbed into their two vehicles and Larten flitted beside them. They stopped at a school about twenty minutes later. Ashley fell out of the car again, and everyone started unloading things from the back. After Alexis dropped about ten things, Larten decided to help.

"May I be of assistance?" he asked smoothly. Alexis smiled, "Sure." Larten picked up everything off of the ground and in the trunk in a few fluid movements. He closed the trunk with his toe, following the group of people. They stopped in a gym, laying their things against bleachers.

"Thanks for helping us, sir." said Ashley.

"You are welcome." he said smiling at her.

"Hey…are you a dancer? 'Cause your outfit's really cool!"

"Er….no I'm….breaking this in for my brother."

"Oh, okay!"

He walked into the hallway, running a hand through his hair. A blond woman was walking around and talking to people. She seemed to know what she was doing.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully.

"Hello. I need to know where I am supposed to watch from." he said.

"Oh, well you have to buy a ticket, then find your seat number and sit there." she said.

"Thank you." he said.

"Oh, wow, I love your costume! Did you design it?" she asked.

"Er, no, my cousin did. He owns his own company."

"Okay, well enjoy the show!" she said, turning around to talk to a teenager wearing a dress.

Larten went to find the ticket booth.

Back in the gym, Ashley and Alexis had donned their first costume. Amanda, Kenzie and her mother looked at them.

"Wow, those are way cool!" said Kenzie.

"And short!" said Amanda.

The two sported short silver, hooded, dresses. Ashley pulled up her hood, long red hair flowing down. "Sucks we have to wear our hair down."

"Yeah, I feel sorry for Heather, she's only got two numbers to pull hers back up." said Alexis. As if on cue, a short, blond girl ran up.

"Has anyone seen Jared?" she asked, looking panicked.

"No but I wish I had…." said Kenzie, grinning.

"McKenzie, shut up." said Heather.

"Okay, why do you need Jared?" asked Ashley.

"He has my Pixie Stix!" she pouted.

"You're freaking out….because of candy." said Amanda.

"Yes! It's good candy!" said Heather, laughing. "Oooh! Jarrod, come here!" she called to a tall brown-haired boy. He put down the girl he'd been twirling in the air.

"Wazzup, little sis?" he asked smiling. Kenzie blushed and smiled at him, while Heather crossed her arms. "Give. Me. My. Pixie Stix." she said. Jarrod looked at her. "Well, I can't argue with that face!" he said sarcastically, withdrawing the candy from his pocket.

"So Ashley, you looking forward to kissing me?" he asked. The girl blushed, then grinned at him.

"You ready to have to lean down to the floor?" she asked.

"Not really." he laughed.

"Jarrod! Come tie my ribbon!" called a girl.

"I'll be right there, Alice!" he called back, smiling at the teens.

"Well, see you backstage!" he said, waving.

Kenzie watched him go, still blushing. "How can he be twenty five? It's not fair! I hate you life!" she complained. Ashley patted her on the shoulder. "There's still Logan." she said. "Isn't he gay?" "Maybe….." Ashley and Heather burst out laughing.

Music burst out in the auditorium, and the group headed in. Ashley, Alexis, and Heather went backstage, calling for the different people in their dance. The others went to find seats, having already bought their tickets.

Larten was sitting in the audience, watching. He'd had difficulty finding his seat, because the rows had letters on them. He'd gotten a woman to escort him there, and had fallen over a rather irritable man who'd screamed at him to 'Screw off'. He'd been very offended after that.

Not very much later the red-head twins came on stage, dancing in silver dresses. The light made the stage purple, an effect that didn't appeal very much to Larten. After them there were small children dressed as butterflies.

After the small butterflies, a group of older teenagers danced. There was one who caught Larten's attention. A young man who danced right along with the girls. He kept in the spotlight with a dark-haired girl wearing glasses. Larten clapped when they went off.

In the gym, Ashley twirled in her costume, grinning. Kenzie smiled. "I can't believe you convinced Ann to do Cirque du Freak!"

"I know! What a change! From lions to vampires in one year!"

"Sucks you have to be Arra though."

"Why?"

"'Cause that means Larten's cheating on me."

Ashley rolled her eyes then spun around again.

"And it's ultra not fair that you get to kiss Jarrod!"

"Oh, come on, we're not actually gonna kiss!"

"Uh-huh. You better not."

"Or what?"

"A thousand years of darkness."

"I like the darkness"

Kenzie growled in response.

"Hey, Kenzie…I think Larten Crepsley's stalking us."

"What?"

"Well, I've seen guys who look like him a lot this week….and I saw him in the audience just now."

"What? Larten's in the audience? I'm coming!"

"Kenzie! Focus!"

"Oh, um…well it could just be a prank or something…"

Her sister beckoned for her to come, by the gym doors. The three girls ran, Kenzie to the auditorium.

Larten watched the curtains open, curious. He was really enjoying this so far. A short boy, dressed in normal clothes, danced on stage.

"_Darren Shan was just a normal boy, until he met the man who'd forever change that."_

He sat straight up. 'It's happening again? How do they know about me?'

The young man from earlier danced on stage, wearing all red, with a red mop on his head. The audience cheered, and Larten eyed him.

"_Larten Crepsley." _

After about five minutes, Ashley danced on stage, her hair braided just like his former mate's. The announcer talked about he and Arra and how they were in love. Ashley spun into the young man's arms, and they kissed.

From the audience, a familiar voice shrieked, "Larten! You cheater!" People giggled, but turned their attention back to the show. Larten was feeling sick. He went outside and took a breath.

One of the security men looked at him. He said something to another, then walked over. "Are you a dancer?" he asked. "No." "Well, why were you in the gym earlier?" he asked. Larten sighed. "I was helping someone." "Yeah. Right." Then the man grabbed him by the arm and made him leave the building.

Later, Ashley and Kenzie watched the finale.

"A thousand years of darkness…." hissed Kenzie.

Ashley, who's cheeks were red, hissed back, "_He _kissed _me!_"

"And where's Larten?"

"Dunno. But I heard someone got kicked out earlier."

"Hmm…"

**(AN-We're nearing the end of this lovely fic, so review it while you can! By the way, I designed all of the costumes for this chapter! Meaning I didn't copy them or anything.)**


	6. The School Part One

Chapter Six-

**(AN- You know…this fic's really grown in size from the oneshot it was supposed to be! This is part one of the school part!)**

The next day, Larten took a walk.

He wasn't really sure where he was going, but something just felt right about walking. It was not long before he found a school full of teenage children.

Melting in the shadows, he continued to wander aimlessly throughout the grounds. While walking he pondered the two girls. Well, he pondered Kenzie. He'd begun to feel…something for her. He shook his head. He was being ridiculous. She was a human teenager! He couldn't allow himself to feel that way.

He smacked his forehead, then tried to focus on his surroundings. He saw a boy and girl kissing behind a bush. A woman dressed in sharp colors walked over to them and pointed towards a building. She seemed to be yelling. Larten sighed, he really didn't like schools these days. Teachers allowed nothing between classes.

He turned his attention back to the walking area. The students just ran and talked to each other, smiling at their friends and glaring at their enemies. He smiled at the display of hormones.

At the area towards the smaller building, people had started moving and shouting. Wondering why, Larten moved closer, and was shocked to find his teenagers. Kenzie was fighting a black girl covered in cheap jewelry and tight clothes.

Aiming a kick at her head, Kenzie shrieked at her. "How _dare _you make fun of my friends, you little bitch!". The girl made fake little movements towards her, an obviously out of shape person. "What's wrong with you, you freak?" shouted a girl from behind her.

Then Larten noticed Ashley, who smacked the girl who'd shouted in the back of the head. The girl whipped around and then she and two of her friends smacked her and kicked her. Ashley growled and tried to hit back, but was kicked in the stomach. She sat on the ground, and was shielded by Ben, who'd fought his way through.

Larten decided this had gone on long enough. He stepped directly into the fight, and pulled Kenzie away from the other girl. He held her, and swept his cape dramatically. "Go to class!" he shouted, and fearing the stranger, they all started running.

He released her from his embrace, checking her for injuries. "Hey…thanks. I think I might of killed her, if you hadn't stopped me." she said, blushing. He patted her on the head. "No problem. Where the hell are your teachers?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, they're probably out eating at CiCi's or something!" she sighed. "Well, I have to go to class or Mrs. Donkey will kill me…"

"All right. By the way, what did that girl do that made you so angry?"

"Oh, she called me a bitch, said me and my friends were freaks because we like fiction, and then called me gothic and made fun of Japanese anime and manga."

"Well, I would have done the same thing."

She grinned then went to help Ashley up off the ground.

"You all right, Captain Slow?"

"Yeah…minus the various bruises I'm sure to have from attack of the preps. If it wasn't for Ben, I might have gotten Aeropostale on me or something." she shuddered.

Ben smiled. "All in a day's work, buddy."

"Well…you children should get to class." said Larten.

The three exchanged glances, but started walking. They entered the building, but Kenzie poked her head out.

"Thanks again, Larten!" she called.

He blinked, but by now was getting used to people recognizing him.

Of course, he didn't leave. He followed them through the windows to a classroom. They took their seats, Kenzie, Ashley, Alexis, Amanda, Ben and another black haired boy sat at one table. The girl Kenzie had fought earlier was there, too. With about six girls dressed similarly to her. Larten found her style distasteful.

Then the teacher walked in and Larten stepped back.

She had bushy, gray hair, and wore a dress covered in clovers. She wore too much makeup and one eye was higher than the other.

He gasped as he realized what she was. A vampeneze!

"Aaalllriiight, class. Settle down." she sang out. They didn't respond in any way, but she smiled. "Good. You are such well behaved students!"

Larten watched the vampeneze in disgust as she tried to teach the class. The students went about talking and flirting, while she gave them paint. Being teenagers, they threw it at each other, painted themselves, and did nothing they were supposed to do. Larten could do a better job teaching.

A girl in tight clothes walked behind the vampeneze and dumped blue paint in her hair. The class cheered and so did Larten. A bell rang, and the students all ran out of the classroom. The vampeneze shouted after them, "God _bless_ you!".

He followed them to their lockers, and watched them withdraw books. Then he got an idea. He memorized where Kenzie's locker was, and flitted to his tent at the Cirque. Darren looked a little shocked, but he ignored him. Sighing happily, he grabbed what he was looking for, then flitted back. Darren looked around, but shrugged and went back to work.

Larten stuck his nails into the lock, and pried it open. He placed the gift inside, then flitted back to the tent, where Darren looked even more surprised. "Wh-what?" he asked. Larten smiled, "Oh, nothing…"

Later Kenzie went to her locker and found a top hat with red and black stripes. She flipped it over and looked inside, searching for a name. She found it embroidered in the top.

"_Larten Crepsley"_

She grinned a Chesire cat grin, and placed it on her head.

**(An- I lied, Slytherin Queen! It's short!)**


	7. The School Part Two

Chapter Seven-

**(AN- Heh, you thought this was the end didn't you? Nope…thanks to all my lovely reviewers, I've found a way to make it longer!)**

Kenzie walked happily to her locker the next morning. She wore Larten's hat, not caring that the teachers had warned her twice about it. Nobody, especially her idiot teachers, would get this hat off of her head.

She was absolutely certain that it had come from the real Larten Crepsley.

Ashley had agreed too, while talking to her over the phone.

"There were so many times I saw him, it _has_ to be him!" she'd said. "I just can't believe that he really exists…it's awesome!"

"Awesome? No. It's the best thing in the whole world! My soul mate is real! And I think he likes me!"

"Because of the hat?"

"Noooo, because of the pepperoni fairy! Of course the hat!"

"You didn't have to be sarcastic…"

"Sorry, I just can't believe this!"

"Now that we've established that we can't believe it, I've decided that I'm going to keep a Larten lookout today!"

"Okay, and if you see him, send him to me! There are a lot of empty rooms in the annex…"

"…."

And now here they were, looking for Larten Crepsley, before third period.

"Maybe he went to kill off one of the teachers!" said Kenzie hopefully.

"I hope it was Mrs. Pants!" said Alexis.

"Go. To. Class." said an angry looking teacher who seemed to magically appear behind them. They started running towards the annex. "And take off that hat!"

"No! My awesome sexy soulmate gave it to me!" called Kenzie.

The teacher blinked, but went back to screaming at other innocent teens.

Meanwhile, back at the Cirque, Larten was packing. He did it slowly, reluctantly. Darren watched him, sitting on top of his coffin.

"What's wrong, Mr. Crepsley?"

He didn't say anything in response, which worried his assistant.

"Oh, is it your little outings? You're going to miss them?"

Larten sighed.

"Yes…"

Darren smiled up at his mentor.

"Well, y'know we're just moving to the next state, right? You could flit to wherever it is you go."

He sat straight up, then grabbed his cloak from his suitcase.

"Well that changes everything!"

"Wait, Mr. Crepsley-"

But he'd already flitted. Darren went back to packing, shaking his head.

Larten went to their school, figuring that was the most reasonable place for them to be. He tried to remember which locker was Kenzie's, but without success. Then, like a gift from the vampire gods, a piece of paper flew out of one of the lockers.

He picked it up, and saw that it had a picture of him on it. Figuring only one person would draw him, he went to the locker it had escaped from.

His nails slid into the lock, and it popped open. He grinned to himself, he absolutely loved his nails sometimes.

But then he was faced with an issue.

'What in hell am I going to put in there?' he thought.

He decided on his cloak. It wasn't very special, but it would be to her. He stuffed it in the locker, then stepped back to shut it.

And was jumped on by someone.

He gave a little grunt, surprised. The person jumped off of him, and he turned to face them. He put his hands up, naturally defending himself. But what he found left him without reason to.

Ashley stood grinning at him. "I can't believe I just glomped Larten Crepsley…at school!" she said to herself quietly.

Larten was preparing to flit, but then the girl grabbed his arm. "Look, my friend adores you, so I want you to meet her."

He was sure she was talking about Kenzie, and because of his crush on her, he obliged. They walked down a covered walkway, while it began to rain.

"Perfect weather for a vampire…" said Ashley, holding out her hand to the rain.

Larten looked at her curiously. She turned around and stared at him directly.

"Why do you never bring Darren?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"What?"

"Darren. You never bring him!"

"Well, he does not know of this."

"Oh….damn…."

They reached a worn out looking building and Ashley led him in.

"Welcome to the annex!" she said, frowning at a bug.

Larten looked around, and was amazed at how disgusting it was. The roof leaked, without anything to collect the water. The air condition seemed to be broken. Insects crawled and flew everywhere.

"You actually are expected to learn here?" he asked.

"Yep."

They kept walking.

"Here we are!" she said, pointing at an empty classroom. She opened the door, taking Larten with her.

"McKenzie, guess who I found!"

The girl stepped out from behind a sink. She looked at Larten, grinning. Then she made a noise, a high pitched…squeal.

She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. Larten's cheeks turned red, but he smiled and stroked her hair, savoring the moment.

"I can't believe I'm hugging Larten Crepsley." she said into his shirt.

'And I cannot believe I have fallen in love with you…' he thought.

**(AN- There, Slytherin Queen, you can stop sending your fans after me with lemon.)**


	8. Stormy Misunderstanding

Chapter Eight-

Larten spent the rest of the day with Kenzie at her rancid school. Whenever teachers asked who he was, he replied that he was a sanitation worker. The teachers, whom Larten found were complete fools, believed him.

His black-haired fan stared at him in every class, and he felt his cheeks glow whenever she looked at him.

One of her friends, called Chris, kept staring at him, too. He leaned in to Kenzie at one point, asking if she knew him in a whisper.

Well, of course the vampire could hear him perfectly.

"I am her…uncle…twice removed." he said.

Chris obviously didn't believe him, but went along with it.

After two more periods, the teachers were getting suspicious, and Larten was getting bored. He decided to go back to the Cirque and help move things. Kenzie could wait for him.

As he bid her farewell in a whisper, she looked up at him in surprise.

"Where are you going?"

"To help pack up the Cirque."

"What?" she exclaimed loudly, causing everyone in her algebra class to stare at her.

But Larten was already gone.

She stared at the window, in complete disbelief. The Cirque was leaving? But that meant he would have to leave, too! The thought made her want to kick a wall…or a prep.

Then it really kicked in. The Cirque would move to God-only-knows-where. Italy, England, Ireland, so many open places, with good business.

So many far away places he could go.

She cursed loudly, then ran out of the classroom. A roar of thunder hit the sky, and it started pouring. 'Just my luck.." she thought.

Her feet hit the pavement as she struggled to pull up her hood. She did not know where the Cirque was, but she was sure she could find a flyer with the address.

'If only this damn storm would stop!' she thought, as lightning lit up the sky.

She caught sight of something green, being battered by the wind. Ripping it off the pole, she saw the black embroidered edges and knew it was from the Cirque.

She ran into the nearest building, which was some fast food building. Taking a table in the corner, she tried to decipher the words, which had smeared because of the rain. Pulling out her notebook, she wrote it down.

A pimply waiter walked up to her, smacking his lips as he chewed gum.

"Hey, kid, aren't ya supposed to be in school or somethin'?" he asked lazily.

"Uh…I am not a child, I am a dwarf. Now leave me alone."

He paused, probably trying to process that, then left her table.

Kenzie then proceeded to run out into the storm, again.

She followed the address, looking everywhere for it. The storm had picked up, and she was getting more and more desperate to find her vampire.

The wind was howling now, ripping at her clothes and bag. There was a loud crack over her head, and she looked up in time to see a telephone pole snap in half. She shrieked as it fell, it was right over her. Desperately, she tried to avoid it.

But it hit her anyways. A flat blow to her head. She felt herself slide into unconsciousness, cursing all the way.

Larten, meanwhile, was humming to himself in his tent. Darren noted his good mood, and the slightly annoying song.

"Have a good day?"

"Yes, a wonderful one."

"Even in this?" He jerked his head toward the window, which was being flooded.

"Indeed."

"Are you ever going to tell me where you've been going?"

"Maybe, if you do everything I say."

"Don't I already do that?"

"Perhaps."

But then the red clad vampire had a sudden…feeling. He could not describe it. Just a feeling like something horrible had happened.

"Mr. Crepsley?" asked Darren worriedly, seeing the change in mood.

Shouts came from outside, and Larten looked up.

"Come." he said to his assistant.

He found Mr. Tall, asking him what was going on.

"Gertha found a girl in the streets. She'd been hit with a broken telephone pole. She is unconscious right now, but she seems to be coming to." he said, rushing off to the infirmary tent.

Larten ran behind him, and Darren just tried to keep up.

He pushed the door open, and saw the girl he had been expecting to see laying on a cot.

She had a nasty bruise forming on her forehead, and was drenched. He fell to the his knees beside her, taking her hand. He brushed a piece of hair from her eyes.

"Will she be alright?" he asked no one in particular.

"Yes." said Mr. Tall, smiling at his friend.

Darren looked between the three of them. "Are you…don't tell me you've been…"

Larten smiled at him, "I think I should explain."

And he did, for about fifteen minutes.

Darren was in disbelief. "Is that even legal?" he asked.

"Most likely not." replied Larten.

"I will never understand you."

"Good, I like it that way." he said, taking Kenzie's hand again, and smiling to himself.


	9. Clearing Things Up

Chapter Nine-

**(AN- Well, I figure I'll do another disclaimer…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cirque du Freak…wish I did though, that'd be really cool! I only own those characters you don't know from the books.**

**Hey, you may or may not have picked up on this, but these characters aren't ofc's! They're characterizations of me and some of my friends! I'm Ashley, by the way…)**

Kenzie woke up slowly. Larten had the feeling that Hibernius had lied about how long it would take to get him to calm down.

When she did wake up, though, her reaction was interesting.

She jumped out the bed, staggering around, and making karate movements.

"Come on you filthy vampeneze! I can take-" then she stopped and looked around.

"Aw, crap, I got abducted…" she said softly, looking around. Larten chuckled softly, and she whipped around.

"Who's there?" she asked, then stopped as her forehead started throbbing.

'Damn light pole' she thought.

Larten switched on the lamp, holding it up to his face. She shocked him by glaring.

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

"I was thinking you were leaving."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well…because you said you were packing up the Cirque…"

"I did not explain?"

"Explain what?"

"That we are just moving to the next state."

"Wh-what?"

He shrugged.

"You Americans love a good freak show."

She paused, still staring at him. Then she ran and hugged him tightly.

"But…McKenzie, I will have to leave at the end of the week."

"Where are you going?"

"Ireland."

She inhaled sharply.

"That is very far away…"

"You could come with me, you know."

"I don't know…my friends and my family…I cannot just leave them…"

"Well, at least think about it. When the time comes, you can make your decision."

She pulled away, then sat on her cot. She felt the lump the chunk of the light pole hat left.

"You are very lucky it was not large."

"I suppose I am."

A few minutes later, Larten was supporting her and walking her through the Cirque. He introduced her to most of the freaks, who were all glad to see she was awake. Well, except the Wolfman, who was probably just hungry.

Kenzie sighed, and her red clad companion looked at her.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ah, it's just Ashley would probably murder Obama to come here."

"Obama?"

"The president." she said laughing.

"Well, I could take the two of you here sometime."

"Really? If you do, you might want to defend Darren, she might accidentally strangle him or something."

"I take it she does not like him?"

"No, she loves him."

"Hmm."

Darren watched from a nearby tree with Evra.

"Wonder what they're talking about?" said the snake-boy.

"I dunno, but look at him. He's totally flirting with her."

Evra snickered, and almost fell out of the tree. His friend grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back up.

"Thanks…"

"No prob, snakey." he said, then smacked the back of his head.

"Ow, what was that for?" he said, rubbing his head.

"Because if you fell out, you'd give us away."

Evra looked offended, but then Darren's hopes of not being noticed were shattered by his mentor.

"Too late, Darren, you talk too loud." he called, while Kenzie giggled.

Growling the two friends got out of the tree. Actually, Evra fell out of the tree and Darren hopped out.

It was about four o' clock now, and Larten decided to take the girl home. She bid farewells to all the people, then hopped on his back.

He flitted her to the school, then got her to tell him the directions to her home. Nodding, he gathered up speed to flit again.

She slid off his back and onto the little sidewalk in front of her house. He walked her across it, wrapping his cloak around her to keep her dry. Then she walked to the front door and knocked twice.

The door opened to reveal her mother, who asked her where she'd been, where she'd gotten the bruise from, etc.

Then she noticed Larten, who was standing with his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you for bringing her back." she said, smiling.

He gave a little bow, "It was not a problem."

The woman smiled and took Kenzie into the house. The girl waved to Larten through the window, and stroked her cat.

And then he went back to the Cirque.


	10. Party Stalker

**Chapter Ten-**

**An: Well, I know you all must be getting sick of my slow updates and author's notes, but I'd like to thank my awesome reviewers:**

**Slytherin Queen 1.30**

**Ferretgirlsz**

**XxFoxWriterxx**

**Silvery Blue Eyes **

**And everyone else! Thank you! Now, away to the chapter…!**

Kenzie watched the teacher, of whom had locked the door to the classroom do to her escapade last time. She was depressed that Larten was leaving, and her friends knew it. She didn't move from the same position for at least ten minutes, except to rub her the bump on her head.

Ashley frowned. She'd only seen her get so down when:

A: One of her favorite characters got killed off.

B: One of her family members died

C: She watched sad videos on YouTube about these people

When the bell rang, (And their teacher unlocked the door) the red-head glomped her friend. She smiled, but her eyes were still dark. Ashley sighed.

"Look, you have a whole week left with him." she didn't know that the vampire had offered to let Kenzie go with him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Besides, we can't have you depressed if we're having a party later!"

"Which reminds me…who was your mystery person you wanted to invite?"

"Ben."

"What? You expect me to let him in my house?"

"I thought you might respond like that. You see, he was all depressed and stuff, so I told him he could come party with us as long as he Caramelldansed."

"…I love you! No homo, of course!"

Her friend smiled, glad to see her cheering up. She was still upset, though, Ashley knew her well enough to spot it. She picked up her black binder, twirling around in a circle. From her bag she produced a small black camera. Kenzie's eyes widened.

"Oh no. You are going to film him? This is too awesome!" Ashley tucked it back in her owl adorned bag.

"We have to be careful, though. If it breaks, I'm dead."

"Okay, okay….I kinda wanted to throw it at Ducky though."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, then started running out the door.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Class, duh!"

"Crap, I forgot!"

"We're at school and you forgot that we have to go to class?"

"Silence puny human!" shouted Kenzie, laughing insanely. They burst into the math teacher's classroom. He looked up, momentarily shocked. Then, realizing it was just two of his crazy students, went back to talking about the Pythagorean Theorem.

When school let out, Ashley ripped her random crap out of her locker. Then, remembering the last time she'd done that, she took the stuff out slowly. (Last time she'd ripped open the carrying case to her sleeping bag and couldn't get it rolled up again the next night). She looked around, slinging her backpack on her shoulder. Kenzie had gone off to talk to her friend Shaylin.

She sat down against her locker, taking out a red sharpie. She then drew Irken symbols* all over the black and white circles. When she finished, she smiled happily. Someone coughed, and she looked around for them.

She relaxed as soon as she saw that it was just Ben.

"What're those?" he asked, nodding towards the symbols. She folded her arms, smirking.

"If you don't know what they are already, there's no point in telling you."

He sighed, then sat down next to her.

"You sure her mom can fit us all in her van?"

"Nope, probably not."

"Okay, well I can look forward to that I guess." She grinned, then patted him on the head.

"I feel sorry for you. Kenzie'll probably kill you before the end of the night…"

"Yep, I probably will!" came Kenzie's voice.

"Now, are all of you ready or what? Nice backpack, Ash, by the way."

About twenty minutes later, they miraculously managed to fit Ashley, Alexis, Kenzie, Ben, and Amanda into Kenzie's mother's van. Then they were off. The whole way there, they talked about what they were going to watch and who was going to kill who in Tekken Tag Tournament, etc. When they reached their destination, they found various places to pile their stuff around the house. And then the party began.

Meanwhile, Larten had finished unpacking his things. He looked around the old tent, then stretched. He scratched his bare chest, (It was exceedingly hot) then perched on his coffin. Darren was helping unpack Rhamus' things. He looked out, noting that they were near done. He paused, remembering what Kenzie had said about her friend's fetish for Darren. It wouldn't hurt to take him along…

"Darren!" he called.

"Yeah, Mr. Crepsley?"

"Come here, you're going to meet someone!" Darren raised an eyebrow and Evra shrugged. The boy started making his way to his and his mentor's tent.

"Who am I meeting?"

"One of Kenzie's friends."

"Are you trying to set me up?"

"What?"

"Nevermind." Larten shrugged that off, then focused on flitting to where Kenzie was. Deciding it was too late for her to be at school, he figured she'd be at her home. He could then ask where Ashley lived and send Darren there, while he talked with Kenzie. Or hopefully did more than talked…he shook his head.

'No thinking like that' he scolded himself. 'She's a child'.

His assistant climbed onto his back, still wondering who the heck Mr. Crepsley wanted him to meet. Then he flitted. He took a short break in a small town, (Thankfully no one was around except some hobo who screamed 'Witchcraft!') Then he started back up again. This time he stopped on her front porch. He let Darren off, then thought about what he was going to do.

He looked at his assistant. He looked pretty similar in age to Kenzie. Maybe he could send him in there. The more he thought about it, the better a plan it seemed. He'd already noted that it wasn't just Kenzie in there. She seemed to be having a party. If Darren went in there, he could pretend to be one of their peers.

So he informed his assistant of his plan. The boy seemed indignant, but gave in anyway. He hadn't been to a party in a while.

Larten knocked on the door. Kenzie's mother answered, and seemed a little shocked.

"Aren't you the man who helped McKenzie home yesterday?"

"Yes. And this is my son Darren. He heard that your daughter was having a party, and was curious to see if he could come. You see we just moved in, and he'd like to get to know the local teenagers."

She thought about it, then told him it was okay. She led Darren inside, and Larten pretended to leave. The woman led Darren into a living room where all the teens had gathered, and were watching things on the computer. They looked up, surprised at the sight of the visitor.

"Okay, guys, looks like you have another partier! His name's Darren and he just moved in, wants to get to know the local kids better, so be nice to him."

Darren waved nervously to them. Ashley was having a hard time keeping her jaw from dropping. She nudged Kenzie.

"If you've met the real Larten…I-is that really..?"

They watched as Darren planted himself in a beanbag chair.

"So um, Darren how old are you?" asked Kenzie.

"Oh, I'm…fifteen." he said, shifting.

"Cool, so what's your last name?"

"Shan."

This time Ashley's jaw dropped. Darren looked at her like she was insane.

"You're _the_ D-Darren Shan?"

"Uh, yeah."

She squealed, and everyone in the room looked at her like she was nuts. Amanda, who figured Ashley knew him from somewhere, decided to break the tension. She pulled up a Lady Gaga video and started to turn it up all the way. Kenzie started singing along, as did Amanda and Alexis. Ben watched Ashley watch Darren watch everyone else.

They then decided to go swimming. It was raining, but nobody really cared. While everyone changed into their bathing suits, Darren just looked around. Naturally, he didn't have a bathing suit. Ben noticed him standing there, then tossed him an extra of his.

Darren, used to Vampire Mountain, started stripping right there, with all the girls in the room. The other boy grabbed his arm.

"Hey, try changing in the bathroom." Darren nodded, blushing, then went to change. When they were all ready, they went and swam. Kenzie attempted to drown everyone in the pool. Ashley nearly drowned without help. Amanda swam laps around everyone, and Alexis did her own little thing. Then Kenzie's brother came out and screamed that they were all crazy since it had turned into a storm. It wasn't until lightning hit that they all ran screaming back inside.

After changing into pajamas, (Or in Darren's case, his clothes from earlier) they settled down to watch Mystery Science Theater 3000. Darren was shocked, he'd actually watched this show before. Amanda didn't understand half the show, and Ben didn't think it was funny, which earned him a smack in the face from Kenzie. As for Ashley, she'd somewhat gotten used to Darren, but still couldn't help staring at him.

Larten watched the show from the window. He laughed along with all of them, thankful for his vampire hearing. After they finished watching the first movie, Kenzie started playing more music. Larten listened, interested in her taste.

"First up, Three Days Grace!" she said. Everyone but Amanda and Darren knew the song, and sang along to it.

"Now, Evanescance!" This time only the twins and Kenzie knew the song. And then the night passed, with them watching movies, and listening to music. Larten watched Kenzie enjoying herself for the whole night. He sighed, knowing he'd have to leave soon. But, at least he'd gotten to spend time with her. He knew she wouldn't pick him over her friends…who would?

**AN: *Sighs* Larten, stop thinking like that! Okay, so in the process of this chapter I had a storm interrupt me…Grrrr, stupid nature!**


	11. Party Stalker Part Two

**Chapter Eleven-**

**AN: I'm so sorry, guys, I didn't realize I'd made Larten use contractions last chapter! I'd been working on it, then had to stop in the middle, and resumed late at night when my brain goes to mush…sorry again! So rabid fans, you know who you are *smiles*, anyway, enjoy!**

**Darren woke up the next morning to a cat's face looming over him. He let out a scream, and jumped up, stepping on Ashley's head. Surprisingly, she kept sleeping. The cat let out a hiss, then darted into Kenzie's lap. The girl giggled insanely at the half vampire, who stood with his arms in a karate stance. He let them fall to his sides, then sat down on the couch again. **

"**It's a cat, Darren, it is not going to kill you."**

"**I know, it just scared me."**

"**Which part? The fluffy fur, or friendly eyes?" **

"**Why do you talk like that?" She looked surprised at the sudden off topic question.**

"**Well, because I love your mentor, that is why."**

"**Oh, okay then." He looked at the window where Mr. Crepsley had been the previous night. The red clad man didn't appear to be there anymore. Darren couldn't help but be curious, and went outside to look for him. Kenzie followed, along with the freshly awoken Alexis. He called his name along with the girls, but he didn't show up. Darren shook his head, he'd probably gone back to the Cirque. **

**The door to the house opened, and Kenzie's mother stepped out. She watched them all calling the name she'd become accustomed to by now.**

"**So, are you a fan of Cirque du Freak, too?" she asked. Darren paused, then nodded. **

"**I think you should come back in." she said, pointing at the sky, which was completely black. They all nodded, and began racing back in. There was a roar of thunder, and Alexis screamed and wrenched open the door, then ran into Kenzie's room and shut the door. The others stared after her.**

"**So, I guess she's afraid of storms." **

"**Yeah, sure is."**

"**Hm." **

**They went to the living room, and flicked on the television. Everyone was awake but Ashley and Ben. Kenzie shook her head at the sight of them. **

"**Hang on, I know what will wake them up." she said, then picked up her iPod. Darren watched curiously, along with the others. She turned the volume all the way up, and a song started playing. The boy flipped over and cursed at them, and the girl sat straight up. **

"**Caramelldansen. Works every time." **

"**Turn that annoying crap OFF!" yelled Ben.**

"**NO!" **

"**Guys, really, it's only ten in the morning and you're already going at it!" said Ashley. **

"**Yeah, well that is not early to some of us, Ash."**

"**Whatever…"**

**Amanda tossed a pack of Poptarts to everyone. Alexis whined because she wanted French toast, and then was smacked in the back of the head. When Darren got his, he ripped it open with his teeth. Amanda stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. **

**But Darren had another hunger, one he knew had to be filled soon, or he'd take it out on them. Ashley watched him again, and noticed how he looked paler and didn't appear to want the food they gave him. She took him by the hand, and pulled him into the bathroom. Kenzie whistled, and Ashley told her to shut up.**

**She let Darren sit on the toilet, taking a spot on the ground. She pulled her sleeve up, revealing her wrist and held it out to him. He was a little hesitant, but then made a small cut and drank. Ashley winced a little, but didn't pull away. **

**When he was finished, he let go of her wrist, and she smiled at him. He smiled back, apologetically. **

"**Sorry."**

"**No, no. That was one of the coolest things to ever happen to me! I felt like Lestat from Interview With The Vampire!" **

**They left the bathroom to find all three of the others pressed against the door. Ashley hit her forehead, as they jumped back and attempted to be innocent. **

"**Guys! He was just feeding!" **

"**Feeding?" said Amanda and Ben at the same time. **

"**Yeah, he's a vampire!" **

"**Sure he is." said Amanda sarcastically. Ben looked hurt. **

"**I swear, he is!" **

**Darren looked between them, worried, and slightly confused. They eventually worked out that Darren was allergic to Poptarts and Ashley, who somehow knew, had to give him an Epipen shot. The half vampire was amazed at how they came up with that, but didn't question it. **

**There was a knock on the door, and Darren saw Mr. Crepsley standing on the doorstep. **

"**Hey, guys, my, um, dad's here!" he said. He gathered his clothes from yesterday, and changed quickly in the bathroom. He opened the door, after throwing Ben's clothes at him, and let Mr. Crepsley in. His cape was soaking wet, and his hair was plastered to his forehead. **

"**Hello, son." he said. **

"**Hey, dad." **

"**Do you have your things?" **

"**Yeah."**

"**Allright, well tell your friends goodbye and we will head home."**

**Darren nodded, and then yelled goodbye to everyone, then stepped out into the rain. He began to climb onto Mr. Crepsley's back, when the door opened and Kenzie raced out with Ashley. Alexis followed shortly. They had all somehow gotten dressed in a matter of minutes. They all stood with their arms crossed. Larten shifted. **

"**Do you need something?" he asked them.**

"**Larten, you promised me you would take us to the Cirque."**

"**Oh, well, yes I did. But could it wait until later?"**

"**I guess it could…" she said, looking down. The water fell off her hair, and Larten watched her, feeling sorry. But, he could not carry all four of them on his back. And coming to get each would take a lot out of him until he fed. He reached out and patted her on the head, sighing. **

"**I will come back for you." he said, then picked up Darren and flitted. Kenzie kicked the ground, then went back inside with the others. They all threw themselves into various beanbag chairs. Amanda and Ben, who'd been arguing over what movie they wanted to watch, looked up in surprise. **

"**Guys, you're soaked! Did you try to go after them?" asked Amanda.**

"**Yeah, sure did. So will it be Negima?" asked Kenzie.**

"**Oooh! I wanna watch Negima so I can see-"**

"**Negi. We know, Ash."**

**She smiled, then shook out her wet hair. A roar of thunder followed, along with lightning. Alexis screamed again and ducked under a pillow. Everyone burst out laughing, and she flicked them off. **


	12. Trek of Insanity

**Chapter Twelve**

**AN-After much pleading, verbal abuse, physical abuse, cursing, screaming, fighting, and psychological torture, I have finally regained my inspiration. **

**Also, I apologize greatly for the extremely long hiatus. Now for my cracky chapter! (I've wanted to do one for a while now)**

Larten came back roughly an hour later. He was still shocked at his companions, Kurda and Gavner, who had been conveniently in the area. Why or how still eluded him, along with the fact that he had found them in his tent, Gavner pressing Kurda against the wall.

He shook his head, and opened the screen door, then prepared to knock when he saw a red envelope with something printed on it taped to the door. He paused, then ripped it off, and tore it open. He shook the letter out and gave it to Kurda to read aloud. He made a big deal about it, but eventually started reading.

"Dear Larten…or, rather, Darren, since Larten can't read…

Alexis, Ashley, Ben, Amanda, my cousin Sarah, and I are going to an anime con! *Squees*"

"What the hell is a 'squee'?" asked Larten.

"No idea." replied Gavner.

Kurda looked between the two of them, then sighed.

"I'm so going to regret this…" Larten raised an eyebrow in time with Gavner. Kurda paused, closing his eyes, then opened them and emitted a squeal, then jumped up and down repeatedly. Larten stared at him, and then burst out laughing. Kurda blushed, but continued reading.

"We're heading to West Virginia, so don't be worried. In faaaact, you should come with us! *Makes puppy dog eyes* Pwease, Larten?" Kurda giggled.

"Read."

"So, until I see you then-You WILL be coming-bye!"

"…guess we're going to West Virginia." Gavner said.

"I suppose we are."

"Oh, wait, there's a P.S.!"

"What does it say?"

"You have to cosplay, or they won't let you in!"

"Cosplay?" Kurda shook his head.

"You know, dressing up like a character you like."

"…can I go as myself?"

He sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair.

"That spoils the fun, but sure." Larten nodded, then decided to flit back to the tent and get Darren and Evra. Kurda and Gavner followed shortly, and when they arrived, went to Truska's tent to get costumes made.

Larten could not find Darren anywhere in the site. He opened up the boy's coffin, looked in the closet, but didn't find him until he opened his own coffin. Darren lay sleeping, clutching a music player. He sighed, then called his name. When he didn't respond, he picked up a feather duster, and smacked him across the face with it.

Darren screamed, jumped up, and succeeded in throwing the music player at Larten, and breaking it. The vampire stood staring at the boy, then shook his head and told him to get dressed. Darren climbed out of the coffin, and immediately began making excuses.

"Well, y'see I was…um…dancing! Yeah! I was dancing to my music and I fell in your coffin and uh…fell…asleep…what are you doing?"

"Packing for an anime convention. Do you think I need money?"

"Anime?"

"I have no idea either. You will want to ask Kurda, he seems to know about this sort of thing."

"Wait-Kurda's here?"

"Yes. So is Gavner. I am surprised you did not hear them. They were in here. I think they may have been fighting."

'Or not…' he thought briefly, before pushing the thought away.

"So when are we leaving? And where is it? Should I pack a lot of clothes? Is it expensive? Do we need to fake an I.D. for me? How long is going to last? When-"

"In ten minutes. West Virginia. Yes. I do not think so. Probably. A day or so."

"Okay! So are we all going? And can Evra come?"

"All of the vampires in camp will be going, and yes, Evra can come as well."

Evra popped out from behind the couch, and Larten jumped back as he was tackle hugged.

"Oh thank you, thank you, Mr. Crepsley!"

"Er…you are welcome."

"You said it was an anime con, right? I love anime!"

"You do?"

"Yeah!"

"What exactly IS it?"

"Weeelll, pretty much Japanese comics…but it's also not!"

"Japanese…comics…"

"Yeah!"

'What have I gotten myself into?' he thought, and continued packing.

Twenty minutes later, after many bathroom breaks, meals, forgotten articles of clothing, sudden urges to chase squirrels, costume changes, and quite a bit of screaming, the vampires were loading themselves into a car they'd 'borrowed' from a farmer.

Gavner demanded that he drove, and Kurda called shotgun. Darren slid in first to the backseat, followed by Larten, then Evra. They began the long and perilous journey to West Virginia, several states away.

About five minutes into the trip, Darren was asleep on Larten's shoulder, and Kurda had put on Coldplay. He'd turned the volume all the way up, and Larten's eye twitched in time with the beat. Gavner sang along at the top of his lungs, and Evra made his snake dance along to the music.

Twenty minutes later, Gavner was falling asleep, and Kurda had switched his music to a mix CD of his own creation. Some annoying song about dancing came on, and the vampire attempted to do the moves in his seat. He ended up cracking his head against the window, and screaming in pain. Larten shoved Darren off of him for the hundredth time, then shoved Evra, who had also fallen asleep, off as well.

Roughly an hour after that, Larten had taken the wheel, and Gavner, Evra, and Darren slept in the backseat. Larten put the radio on a rock station, after much tuning, and Kurda had a fit because they wouldn't play any Train on there. Larten was extremely tempted at this point to drive the car into a lake and be done with it. But…he wanted to see McKenzie. So he resisted the urge to kill them all.

After a while, he gave up on keeping track of where they were on the map, and let Kurda program the GPS system to find the anime con. He'd gone on Darren's computer prior to the trip, and located the address of the convention. He attached it to the front of the windshield, and turned it on.

"Hullo, K-dog." it said in a British woman's voice. Larten raised an eyebrow at the Prince, who smiled back.

"Hey, Brittany."

Larten looked between Kurda and the machine, wondering how in the names of the vampire gods he had gotten it to speak to him.

"Kurda? You are aware that I cannot read?"

His face fell.

"…ARGH! Damn you technology!" he let out a sob, and hit his head against the window.

"Could I perhaps trust you to drive?"

"I guess…but I never got a license."

"What, you thought I had one?"

"…yes…"

"Drive Kurda, drive!" screamed Gavner.

"Yeah, drive Kurda!" called Darren.

"Drive!" Evra sang.

Kurda nodded his head firmly, then told Larten to park the car, and get out. He complied, but told the other vampire he wasn't allowed to pick any music.

They were on the road shortly after that, this time with Darren in the passenger's seat. They quickly regretted allowing Kurda to drive, however. He saw a local Wal-Mart and threw himself out of the car, promising he'd be back in five minutes. Larten did a face-palm of epic proportions, and waited for the blonde prince to return.

When he did-twenty five minutes later-he carried…nothing. Except for a cheap necklace with a 'K' on it.

"THAT was your big purchase? The purchase that you pulled over the car to get, that you stopped the whole trip for?"

"But…Larten…it has a 'K' on it!"

Larten's eye twitched.

**Will Larten keep from killing all of our favorite characters? Will they ever reach their destination? And what of the strange teenagers? **


End file.
